Orphan drug spending not as high as originally thought, study says

POST DATE: 1:03 pm

Total orphan drug spending represented approximately 1 percent of total U.S. health care spending, according to the authors.
Rising concerns about spending on prescription drugs that treat rare diseases are not justified, according to a new analysis in the journal Health Affairs.

“We wanted to focus on the true impact of orphan drugs,” said Victoria Divino, a senior consultant at IMS Health and an author of the study. Researchers at IMS Health and drug maker Celgene analyzed U.S. pharmaceutical spending from 2007 to 2013 on more than 300 drugs that had orphan approval under the 1983 Orphan Drug Act. Read more here.